Acting Labor Sec is pushing governors to understand unemployment insurance fraud
Acting Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling joins ‘Mornings with Maria’ to announce a crackdown on unemployment fraud and warn states they could lose federal funding if they fail to comply.
FIRST ON FOX – US Acting Secretary of Labor Keith Sonderling sent letters to the governors of 53 US states and territories on Wednesday “demanding immediate action to combat fraud, waste and abuse within the unemployment insurance system,” according to a department report.
“In these letters, the department announced its intention to fight rampant fraud and eliminate mismanagement, improper payments, and corruption within the UI program. Acting Secretary Sonderling announced that, in cooperation with the Office of the Inspector General, the department will use all available legal tools – including seizing administrative funds from states for the first time in history to protect tax compliance and tax protection – dollars,” the department said in a statement first obtained by FOX Business.
“We are officially putting the governors on notice,” Sonderling said in a statement. “The American people can no longer tolerate the blatant waste, fraud, and abuse of their hard-earned tax dollars — no state should allow that. If states allow it, they will face the consequences. This department is no longer afraid to use every tool at its disposal to ensure that taxpayer money is protected.”
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US Acting Secretary of Labor Keith Sonderling testifies before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies at the Dirksen Senate Office Building on May 19, 20. (Kevin Dietsch / Getty Images / Getty Images)
The release also included a statement from Labor Department Inspector General Anthony D’Esposito about the crackdown: “The days of excuses are over. States that fail to protect taxpayer dollars must expect consequences. Acting Secretary of Labor Keith Sonderling and I will use every enforcement tool available to demand accountability, recover stolen money, and ensure that unemployment benefits only go to eligible Americans,” he said.
Sonderling discussed his plan to end unemployment insurance fraud during an appearance Wednesday morning on Fox Business’ “Mornings With Maria.”
“New York is paying more than $2 billion a day in improper payments” related to “unemployment insurance,” he asserted, adding that the state of California owes more than $20 billion to the “trust fund.”
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President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance salute during the National Memorial Day Ceremony at the Amphitheater at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va. on May 25, 2026. (Kent NISHIMURA / AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)
He said that “between New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Illinois,” those states last year paid more than $2.5 billion in “improper payments.”
He announced that he would use “every tool available to the Department of Labor to arrest these governors in order to stop the theft of your taxpayer dollars.”
VANCE TASK FORCE REVEALS BIDEN ADMIN’S ‘PROTECTED’ 562K LOANS IN $22.2B ALLEGED FRAUD SCHEME
Acting US Attorney General Todd Blanche (C) speaks as US Vice President JD Vance (L) and US Acting Secretary of Labor Keith Sonderling listen during a Cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House on May 27, 2026, in Washington, DC. (Wina McNamee/Getty Images/Getty Images)
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Sonderling serves on President Donald Trump’s Anti-Fraud Task Force led by Vice President JD Vance.
